Local Forms of Government
A major unit of local government in most States. In Louisiana, they are known as parishes
What is a county?
A type of government in which the mayor heads the city’s administration
What is a strong-mayor government?
A city and the area around it
What is a metropolitan area?
A tax levied on the income of individuals and/or corporations
What is an income tax?
A financial plan for the use of money, personnel, and property
What is a budget?
An urban political unit within a township that usually exists as a separate governmental entity
What is a municipality?
A government formed by commissioners, heads of different departments of city government, who are popularly elected to form the city council and thus center both legislative and executive powers in one body
What is a commission government?
The practice of dividing a city (or county) into a number of districts and regulating the uses to which property in each of them may be put
What is zoning?
A tax levied on real and personal property
What is a property tax?
The process of determining the value of property to be taxed
What is an assessment?
"Counties" in Louisiana are known as this
What are parishes?
A type of government in which the mayor shares his or her executive duties with other elected officials.
What is a weak-mayor government?
A benefit that federal law says must be paid to all those who meet the eligibility requirements, such as Medicare, food stamps, and veterans’ pensions.
What is an entitlement?
A tax levied at the same rate, regardless of income. A sales and meals tax are the best examples of this
What is a flat tax?
A tax placed on the sale of various commodities, paid by the purchaser
What is a sales tax?
A subdivision of the county. These are typically found in the Midwest and Pennsylvania
What are townships?
A modification of the mayor-council government, it consists of a strong council of members elected on a non-partisan ballot, a weak mayor, elected by the people, and a manager, named by the council.
What is a council-manager government?
A city's basic law, its constitution
What is a charter?
A type of tax leveled proportionate to income. The more income you make, the higher you are taxed. The Federal Government, as well as most states have this, including Virginia.
What is a progressive tax?
A levy imposed on the assets of one who dies
What is an estate tax?
An independent unit created to perform one or more related governmental functions at the local level
What is a special district?
The oldest and most widely used type of city government—an elected mayor as the chief executive and an elected council as its legislative body.
What is a mayor-council government?
The process by which a State establishes a city (or town) as a legal body
What is incorporation?
A tax levied where you pay less tax the more you earn. Currently, no state has this.
What is a regressive tax?
A tax levied on the beneficiary’s share of an estate
What is an inheritance tax?